


leap after leap in the dark

by WanderingJane



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, pre-boot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:47:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingJane/pseuds/WanderingJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barbara Gordon remembered what it was like to dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	leap after leap in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> Anon on tumblr requested a dickbabs fic. Pre-boot. AU-ish. Title is from Agnes de Mille.

There were days when Barbara would wake up with her heart in her throat and a phantom tingle in her legs. She could still feel everything - the ache in the arches of her feet, the protest in her ankles and knees, the feeling of her hair swishing around her face as she spun. Those were the best and worst dreams, beautiful in the moment and bitterly disappointing once she woke up - a reminder of what she’d lost and what she’d never have again.

That night, when the call came in and woke her from dreams of pirouettes and pas de bourrées, she didn’t hesitate. She bit back her complains, shook away the remnants of her torturous dreams, and made her way to her computers. There was a job to do. There was always a job to do. It was Gotham after all.

It rained all through the night, making the streets slick and the rooftops dangerous. It was a hard night for her, for all of them. The Joker was out, wreaking chaos and havoc everywhere he went. Batman, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl were all out that night, trying to both stop the Joker and keep Jason from killing him.

Barbara’s hands twitched over the keyboard, wincing as she heard the Joker’s laugh sharp and clear over Dick’s comm.

But she stayed calm, and guided all of them. Go here. Turn there. Head for the docks. When the sun was rising, and the rest of the city was beginning to rise, the Bats were done. The Joker had been caught and sent back to Arkham. Jason had stormed off, angry and resentful. 

Dick showed up at the clock tower still wearing his Nightwing uniform. He took off his mask, and sunk to his knees in front of Barbara. Sweat covered his forehead, trickling down the bridge of his nose and over his lips. 

He laid his head on her knees, and his eyes falling shut as Barbara carded her fingers through his hair. He kissed her knees, and even though Barbara couldn’t feel it, she heard the words he whispered as he pressed her lips against her skin.

Her hands froze when she heard his question. Even through her surprise, her voice was calm and steady when she asked him to repeat himself.

Dick looked up. Strands of sweaty hair fell into his eyes. He asked again.

She answered.

~

They learned to dance together in new and different ways. Sometimes, he spun her in her wheelchair until the world was a blur of colors and shapes. Other times, she waved her hands over her head, while he did the silliest, most ridiculous dance ever done outside a high school gym. Barbara danced with her fingertips as they raced over a keyboard, and danced her lips as when and Dick kissed. 

They danced again in front of all their family, friends, and fellow heroes. Dick carried her in his arms, swaying gently to the music, his forehead pressed against hers. The long train of her white dress swung over his arm, brushing the floor. Barbara joked that he would trip over it and send them both sprawling to the floor, but Dick never missed a step. Even long after the guests and well-wishers began to leave, Dick and Barbara kept on dancing.


End file.
